Ice Core Incubator
Set on the Austfonna Glacier of Svalbard, Norway, in one of the most extreme northern climates, the main program for this research outpost is a permanent ice core drilling site. The Arctic is at first glance without measure; a vast relentless tundra where time, distance, and density are suspended. Both the program and the architecture is intended to evidence this metric, from the microscopic nature of ice to the megascale of the landscape. Visualization of subgrade conditions as seen in snow pits is amplified to greater depths and detail with ice cores. Concerned with the extraction of a geomorphic biopsy, ice core drilling uses a serial protocol to reach depths of over 3000 metres, and stratified layers of condensed ice and snow are visualized to infer detailed historic atmospheric information. These records are studied at a molecular level in order to better understand global conditions, and a cryogenic archive is accumulated methodically and systematically.
The drill site is removed from the outpost, situated 200 feet away. Distance markers connect the two sites, attempting to orient the body in relation to the environment as scientists move between sites. The outpost is bisected by a trench that divides conditioned and non-conditioned space, and defines the trajectories for the main entrance and the drill site. These two paths connect at an interior courtyard, protected by a wind wall that pushes the dominant southwest winds in two directions. This protects the building, while the other side becomes semi-embedded with snow drifts and wind over time.
Within the outpost, the building is organized from working spaces to living spaces, using excavated moments throughout where snow pits are simulated to collect drifting snow and act as light collectors. At the north end, the library contains an observation post which looks towards the drill site and provides views of the landscape, while reflective dichroic glass bounces light down the work spaces below. Light and color are used as tools to orient the eye and the body and combat the relentless nature and loss of self which endures after protracted time in the Arctic.